Dirty Hands

Season 3, Episode 15, Aired
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Episode Summary

Amid a heated labor dispute, Tyrol asks the imprisoned Baltar for advice. Seelix becomes involved after she is turned down for flight training.
8.1
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Fan Episode Reviews (43)

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  • Dirty Hands

    10
    "Perfect"
    By TrueTvWatcher, Jan 21, 2012 Report Abuse
    Dirty Hands was an amazing look at the background characters who keep the Colonial Fleet running and operational by undertaking the "dirty work". It was interesting to see that Gaius had been able to influence people with his book and how things really did appear to be going the way he claimed. This was a perfect story to focus on Tyrol and he was very impressive in his ability to manage and communicate. It would be scary to be a young and put in a situation with out a choice and forced to do a job you would never consider and then have a terrible accident. In the end Tyrol and the President talk about solutions and come to terms, wrapping things up nicely. I look forward to watching the next episode!!!!!!!!!moreless

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    0 0

  • A show about labor relations.

    8.1
    "Great"
    By imperial3, Aug 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    I thought that this episode was very good. It shows what happens in a society that is on the run and needs to have vital needs met but the conditions under which the goods are produced are just horrific. In this episode we see that Tyrol was at first very pro Message from the president and the admiral. When he sees that the conditions are just deplorable and that if the people have no hope of ever rising above their station then people start to loose all hope their children having a better life than they had. If you don't have any hope then you don't care what you do since you don't care what happens to you.moreless

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    2 1

  • I would like the so-called fans who toss around the word "Filler" like it's candy to read this one.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By my1sunshine, Aug 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    I have tried, really..I have struggled to maintain an "everybody has a right to an opinion" attitude toward fans who have been calling the majority of third season episodes fillers. But some reactions to this episode take the cake. This series, people..for those who have not been paying attention for the..mmm..what is it now ...almost five years since the mini-series aired...is NOT a sci-fi show. I'll say that again..IT IS NOT A SCI-FI SHOW! Can ya hear me now? Good. It is , as Ron Moore pointed out before the min-series even aired, (and that's a year BEFORE the mini-series, so that's actually six years, for whoever's counting) is a DRAMA, that happens to take place in a sci-fi universe. That means it's about people first. It's not about the scenerios cloaked in the action, suspense, tragedies, special effects, etc..it's about how those events effect the people, the characters, that we have grown to love. Every time one of these episodes comes around which do not deal with Cylons, traps, attacks, or the suspenseful plots, twists and turns which this series so well presents, then it is automatically crap, right? These reviews seem to be posted by people with the attention span of a sound bite, and a scope of intelligence just as vast. In the last episode, it was stated that it had been just under 50 days since the Cylons had last been seen. So we've been taking a refreshing look at the people in the fleet too seldom seen. The little people, the people who in fact are the life-blood of the fleet. The people without whom, the fleet could not survive. It's one of the things I love about this show, and frankly, what separates it, and distinguishes it from the rest of the sci-fi drek which numbs itself under the guise of a lot of tech. We were given a glimpse of the underbelly of the fleet. It showed, in-your-face style, things that are seriously wrong with the society, and need fixing, badly. If society ignores these issues, than what are we staying alive for, fighting for, and indeed..dying for? It was also a shining moment for Tyrol. One of the biggest challenges for all the people in the fleet, is to find a way to keep their sanity and humanity, sometimes scratching and clawing to keep it, in the face of madness, and a constant shadow of death and destruction. As Agathon demonstrated in "The Woman King", (another episode designated as filler by so many), Tyrol demonstrated that, in a culture that has lost almost everything, sometimes the most important thing, and indeed, maybe the only important thing we have left, is who we are, what we believe in. What is right, and what is wrong. This, my friends and fellow fans is at the very core of the show. It doesn't matter if it's Cylons, or dogfights, or personal conflicts, or labor disputes. It's about hanging on to, and fighting for, what you believe in. That's what Tyrol did. And it brought a hell of a drama to the episode. This was a well acted, very dramatic and , yes, very suspenseful episode. Those of you looking for the same plotlines, twists and turns, action etc., every single episode are unrealistic and silly. This is the most human type of story. And now that we've spent the last small handful of them dealing with this type of human exploration, we can look forward for the thrills and chills to resume. And indeed, we can appreciate them that much more.moreless

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    3 4

  • Good points but..

    8.5
    "Great"
    By Parricida, Aug 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    In the level of idea - I loved the episode.. all that Tyrol proved this episode - working with that heavy machinery and the situation of people around the fleet and those hard works and no free time - and how there is difference of people - are you a military or deck hand.. and your son will follow your path and this will be the only way. And I specially loved when he asked (I think it was he) if there will be anyone else leading this fleet than man named Adama.

    So, there were really great points and the story - it had some very similar lines with real life events and things happening, the class difference and that all.. but.. oh.. it missed something on the other hand - it was not emotion for sure - as there was so much anger and hate.. but there was something missing..moreless

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    1 1

  • Another great dramatic episode.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By kingrich06, Aug 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    Once again the writers of the show tackle a hard subject of forced labor. If one person, who was a mechanic in his life in the colonies, is destined have the same profession? Will his children be subject to the same career or does one has a freedom to choose? This is the main topic of the episode. It sort mimics what happened in Medieval time where a family of farmers will always be a family of farmers. Another point that they made is something of a principal that most governments have today. Never negotiate with terrorists. I like the way Adama handled the situation and the subsequent results of his decisions. The look on Tyrol's face at the end was priceless.moreless

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    1 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • After the Raptor crash into Colonial One, President Roslin relocates her office to an undamaged part of the ship. She says to Adama that she will have to stay there for "God knows how long" rather than "Gods know how long." Edit
    • According to Ronald Moore, this episode was originally going to focus on Lt. Dualla ("Dee") and the continuation of the Sagittaron story from The Woman King episode. Edit
    • When Baltar takes the book notes from his underwear, he's still wearing his pants. But a moment later, he is seen wearing only his underwear. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The Colonial Workers Alliance, the union that Chief Tyrol headed on New Caprica, is reborn in this episode. Tyrol resumes his role as the leader of that union. Edit
    • With the exception of the "imaginary" Number Six, no known Cylons appear in this episode. Edit
    • Although credited, Jamie Bamber and Grace Park did not appear in this episode. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Tyrol: You do important work down here, just as important as sittin' in a cockpit. Seelix: Thanks, Chief. I'm gonna... deliver some more important laundry. Edit
    • Tyrol: (discussing Fenner's arrest over the telephone) He seemed like a good guy. What'd he do? Adama: Pissed off the president. Edit
    • Tyrol: (to Roslin) There are a lot of dirty jobs that need to be done every day in this fleet. Cleaning, hauling, low-level maintenance, things like that. These are the kind of jobs that I think should be allocated to people... well, people like yourself, no offense. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • While in his jail cell on Galactica, Gaius Baltar wrote My Triumphs, My Mistakes, a semi-autobiographical book that includes his observations about the politics and socioeconomics of the fleet. The book and the nature of its creation have strong parallels to the infamous treatise Mein Kampf, which is often translated as "My Struggle" from the original German. Like Baltar, Adolf Hitler wrote the book by dictating his thoughts while in prison. Just as with Baltar's treatise, Mein Kampf is a mixture of autobiography and socio-political ideology. Despite the clear similarities, Baltar's book is not meant to mimic Hitler's. The greatest difference is the political focus of the two books. Hitler focused on foreign policy and his racial hatred while Baltar was apparently concerned with the rights of the disenfranchised in the fleet. However, Baltar was motivated by anger, just as Hitler was. Baltar's deep-seated shame over his Aerelon background underlies his attack on the "Caprican aristocracy." Edit

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